[Medical oncology: is it a new medical speciality in Africa?] / L'oncologie médicale, nouvelle spécialité en Afrique?

Cancer is a major public health problem in Africa. Advances in the treatment of cancers over the last decade are undeniable. Multidisciplinary approach is essential for improved patient's management. Medical oncology is a recently-recognized speciality in Africa Indeed, many African countries do not have doctors or a sufficient number of doctors qualified to practice in this medical specialty. The fight against cancer in Africa involves oncology speciality training and the development of curricula in order to ensure optimum patient management.

[Paraneoplastic dermatomyositis revealing an undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma: about a case]. / La dermatomyosite paranéoplasique révélant un carcinome indifférencié du nasopharynx: à propos d'un cas.

Dermatomyositis (DM) is an inflammatory disease of unknown origin that manifests as a myopathy associated with typical skin lesions. Association between DM and cancer is frequent (from 18% to 32% according to case series). It was described for the first time by Stertz in 1916 in association with gastric cancer. All histological types and sites of cancer in the general population may be associated with DM. Its association with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rarely described and the incidence proportion is 1 case of nasopharyngeal carcinoma per 1.000 persons.

[Chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea in moroccan population: a retrospective cohort study]. / Aménorrhée chimio induite chez une population marocaine: à propos d'une cohorte retrospective.

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in premenopausal women and its treatment may affect their fertility. Indeed, chemotherapy used in breast cancer may cause transient or permanent amenorrhea in premenopausal women. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective study of young patients with localized breast canceri in the Department of Medical Oncology, Mohammed VI Inuversity Hospital, Oujda, Morocco over a 3-year period from January 2009 to December 2011. The aim of our study was to analyse the impact of chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea (CIA) as well as predictive factors for its occurrence. RESULTS: In our series, 74% of patients had CIA and 33.6% of patients had definitive chemotherapy-induced amenorrhea. Several factors have been studied in search of predictive factors for amenorrhea occurrence. With regard to the age factor, our analysis showed that women over 40 were more likely to have amenorrhea than those aged less than 40 years (95.7% versus 56.1%), with a statistically significant difference (p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: In our study the incidence of ICA seems comparable to that found in the literature, while age is the predominant predictor of its occurrence.

[Fatal acute interstitial lung disease associated with docetaxel administration: about a case and review of the literature]. / Pneumopathie interstitielle aiguë fatale sous docetaxel: à propos d'un cas et revue de la littérature.

Docetaxel is a chemotherapeutic agent belonging to the taxane family. This drug is widely used to treat cancers. Interstitial lung disease is a rare but serious toxicity due to the high mortality risk. We report a case of a patient with breast cancer who had fatal acute interstitial lung disease after auxiliary chemotherapy with docetaxel. The clinician should be aware of this risk and should consider it in differential diagnosis in patients with respiratory symptoms treated with docetaxel.